A computer utilizes a user-input device (UID) to receive its user's input and various kinds of input/output (I/O) cards or devices to handle I/O signals or information. A typical UID is the mouse, the trackball, the keyboard, the pressure tablet, or the pen-based input device. Popular I/O cards include the sound card handling I/O speech signals and the fax/modem device transferring information over the telephone line. Devices and cards require and share common computer resources such as the direct memory access (DMA) channels and the interrupt request (IRQ) services. Computer resources for each device or each card equipped in a computer must be configured, or assigned, to pre-arranged memory locations that are limited in number. Configuration setup for computer resources is cumbersome and sometimes causes conflict in running software. The recent plug-and-play technology implemented in computers alleviates the configuration mechanism. However, it does not solve the problem of limited resources shared among cards and devices. As computer technology advances, more types of cards and devices are offered for richer sets of functions; efficient use of computer resources becomes critical. Furthermore, a conventional computer requires that its user be close to its display screen in order to see and control what shown on the screen. If somehow the user could issue commands to her computer and receive its responses remotely, she would gain a new freedom, such as walking around or staying in bed, while using the computer. The present invention offers a new kind of UID utilizing the computer resources efficiently and enabling a mode of remote interaction between the computer and its user.